Floating display device and method for a floating display device to indicate touch position

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure relates to a floating display device and a method for a floating display device to indicate a touch position. The floating display device includes a touch marking unit. The floating display device is configured to generate a floating image in a floating imaging region, and the touch marking unit is configured to project a touch mark for marking an area where a touch object intersects the floating imaging region.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This patent application claims the benefit and priority of ChinesePatent Application No. 201810530465.6 filed on May 29, 2018, thedisclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entiretyas part of the present application.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates to a field of display technology. Moreparticularly, it relates to a floating display device and a method forindicating a touch position for a floating display device.

The floating display can be separated from the display device to createa unique display effect, which can be widely used in exhibitions,commercials, public information tips, and other fields. With theincrease in the amount of information and the personalized data needs ofusers, a display technology has changed from a simple formation displayto a human-machine information interaction display. The traditionaltouch interaction method has been greatly challenged by the floatingdisplay because the latter does not need a physical medium any more.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a floating display deviceand a method for a floating display device to indicate a touch position.

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a floating display device.The floating display device includes a touch marking unit, the floatingdisplay device is configured to generate a floating image in a floatingimaging region, and the touch marking unit is configured to project atouch mark for marking an area where a touch object intersects thefloating imaging region.

In some embodiments, the touch marking unit is configured to scan thetouch mark along a plane in which the floating imaging region is locatedto mark the area where the touch object intersects the floating imagingregion.

In some embodiments, the floating display device further includes atouch object locating unit configured to determine a position of thearea where the touch object intersects the floating imaging region, sothat the touch marking unit projects the touch mark at the location.

In some embodiments, the touch marking unit includes a laser, a MEMSreflector for changing a projection direction of a laser light generatedby the laser, and a projection lens for projecting the laser light fromthe MEMS reflector to display the touch mark.

In some embodiments, the touch object locating unit includes a line-scanlaser radar configured to scan a laser light along a plane in which thefloating imaging region is located.

In some embodiments, the touch object location unit includes a depthcamera.

In some embodiments, the laser light includes a visible laser.

In some embodiments, the floating display device further includes acontrol device, wherein the control device is configured to, based onthe area where a touch object intersects the floating imaging regiondetermined by the touch object locating unit, control the touch markingunit to project the touch mark to the area, or the control device isconfigured to control the touch marking unit to scan at a predeterminedfrequency the touch mark along a plane in which the floating imagingregion is located.

In some embodiments, the floating display device further includes adisplay unit and a floating imaging unit configured to generate afloating image in the floating imaging region based on information fromthe display unit.

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method for a floatingdisplay device to indicate a touch position.

A second aspect of the present disclosure provides a method for afloating display device to indicate a touch position. The floatingdisplay device includes the floating display device as described above.The method includes projecting a touch mark for marking an area wherethe touch object intersects the floating imaging region.

In some embodiments, the projecting touch mark includes obtaining aposition of the area where the touch object intersects the floatingimaging region, and projecting the touch mark to the position.

In some embodiments, projecting the touch mark includes the projectedtouch mark scanning, at a predetermined frequency, the touch mark alonga plane in which the floating imaging region is located.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the presentdisclosure more clearly, the accompanying drawings of the embodimentsare briefly described below. It should be understood that the drawingsdescribed below refer only to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure, and not to restrict the present disclosure, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a floating display device according toembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a floating display device according toembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a floating display device according toembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a floating display device according toembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a floating display device according toembodiments of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 6 is a flow chart of a method of projecting a touch mark at aportion of a touch object that intersects a floating imaging region,according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In order to make the technical solutions and advantages of theembodiments of the present disclosure more comprehensible, the technicalsolutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure are clearly andcompletely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part but not all of theembodiments of the present disclosure. Based on the describedembodiments of the present disclosure, all other embodiments obtained bythose skilled in the art without creative efforts shall also fall withinthe protection scope of the present disclosure.

As used herein and in the appended claims, the singular form of a wordincludes the plural, and vice versa, unless the context clearly dictatesotherwise. Thus, the references “a”, “an”, and “the” are generallyinclusive of the plurals of the respective terms. Similarly, the words“comprise”, “comprises”, and “comprising” are to be interpretedinclusively rather than exclusively.

For purposes of the description hereinafter, the terms “upper”, “lower”,“right”, “left”, “vertical”, “horizontal”, “top”, “bottom”, andderivatives thereof shall relate to the disclosure, as it is oriented inthe drawing figures. The terms “overlying”, “atop”, “positioned on” or“positioned atop” means that a first element, such as a first structure,is present on a second element, such as a second structure, whereinintervening elements, such as an interface structure, e.g., interfacelayer, may be present between the first element and the second element.The term “direct contact” means that a first element, such as a firststructure, and a second element, such as a second structure, areconnected without any intermediary conducting, insulating orsemiconductor layers at the interface of the two elements.

There is no need for a physical carrier for touch control of a floatingdisplay. Thus, an operator needs to more accurately locate the spatialposition of the finger in order to accurately achieve the touchoperation, which will undoubtedly increase the visual and psychologicalburden of the operator and reduce the human-computer interactionexperience.

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a floating display deviceincluding a touch marking unit. The floating display device isconfigured to generate a floating image in a floating imaging region.The touch marking unit is configured to project a touch mark. The touchmark is used to mark an area where a touch object (for example, afinger) intersects the floating imaging region.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a floating display device according toembodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 1, a floatingdisplay device according to embodiments of the present disclosure has afloating imaging region, wherein the floating display device is capableof generating a floating image in the floating imaging region D. Thefloating display device includes a touch marking unit 10. The touchmarking unit 10 is configured to project a touch mark 30. The touch mark30 is used to mark an area (see “P” of FIG. 2) where the touch object 20intersects the floating imaging region D. With the touch marking unit10, the touch mark 30 can be used to mark the area where the touchobject 20 intersects the floating imaging region, thereby marking whichpart of the touch object intersects the floating imaging region. Theembodiments of the present disclosure can at least more accuratelylocate the effective active portion of the touch object (i.e., theportion where the touch object intersects the floating imaging regionD), thereby facilitating human-machine interaction of the floatingdisplay device and avoiding disoperation caused by positioning mistakes.

The touch mark herein refers to a mark that can be used to mark an areawhere the touch object intersects the floating imaging region tofacilitate human-computer interaction. The touch mark can be a visuallyvisible mark. For example, the touch mark can include at least one of alight spot, an arrow, a cross, and the like.

It can be understood that although the touch object is taken as a fingeras an example in the figure. The touch object may include at least oneof other parts of the body, a simulated finger, or a touch bar. Thetouch object is taken as a finger as an example in the followingdescription.

FIG. 2 illustrates an operation of the touch marking unit 10 accordingto embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 2, the touchmarking unit 10 can scan the touch mark 30 along the plane in which thefloating imaging region D is located to mark the area P where the touchobject 20 intersects the floating imaging region D. The scanning rangeAA′ of the touch marking unit 10 can be set to completely cover thefloating imaging region D to enable scanning of each portion of thefloating imaging region. However, it is also possible to set thescanning range of the touch marking unit to cover a specific portion ofthe floating imaging region as needed.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a floating display device according toembodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 3, the floatingdisplay device according to embodiments of the present disclosure mayfurther include a touch object locating unit 40 for determining theposition of the intersection area of the touch object 20 and the imagingregion D. In an embodiment, the position determined by the touch objectlocating unit 40 enables the touch marking unit 10 to project the touchmark 30 at the position.

The touch object locating unit 40 may include a laser radar. Theposition of the touch object such as a finger in the floating imagingregion can be obtained by the laser radar. The laser radar may includeat least one of a line-scan laser radar, a cone-scan laser radar, or afiber-scan laser radar.

In an embodiment, the touch object locating unit includes a line-scanradar configured to scan laser light along a plane in which the floatingimaging region is located. Though measuring the distance and orientationof the touch object by the line-scan radar, the intersection area of thetouch object and the imaging region can be quickly located. Line-scanlaser radar can reduce the amount of data calculation and simplify thestructure of the touch object locating unit, which has the advantages ofsmall size and low cost.

The laser radar emits light pulse. The light pulse is reflected by anobstacle (i.e., a touch object), and the reflected light pulse isreceived by the laser radar. The distance from the obstacle to the radarcan be calculated by the time difference between emitting the lightpulse and the receiving the light pulse. In addition, the radar iscapable of measuring the azimuth relative to the radar of the obstacle.The laser radar can thereby determine the position of the touch object.

The touch object locating unit 40 may also include a depth camera. Thedepth camera is capable of projecting a structured light pattern (e.g.,infrared light) into a target space (e.g., the space in which the touchobject is located) to achieve calibration of the target space. Forexample, when a depth camera projects a spot with a specific structureonto a three-dimensional object, the observed spot structure will deformas changes of the viewing angle and the surface contour of the object.The contour data of the surface of the object can be obtained byanalyzing the deformation of the spot. In this way, the spatial positionof the touch object and the position of the touch object in the floatingimaging region can be obtained through three-dimensional reconstruction.

In embodiments of the present disclosure, the touch marking unit mayinclude a laser MEMS device. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the touchmarking unit includes a laser 101, a MEMS reflector 102, and aprojection lens 103. The MEMS reflector 102 is used to change aprojection direction of the laser light LA generated by the laser 101.Projection lens 103 is used to project laser light LA from MEMSreflector 102. The laser light LA is used to display the touch mark. TheMEMS reflector can include a two-dimensional scanning MEMS micromirror(single mirror) or a digital micromirror device DMD (two-dimensionalarray). The laser light LA of the touch marking unit 10 may be visiblelight to obtain a better visual recognition effect of the touch mark.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a floating display device according toembodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 4, the floatingdisplay device further includes a control device 50. In an embodiment,the control device 50 controls, based on the position of the area wherethe touch object 20 intersects the floating imaging region determined bythe touch object locating unit 40, the touch marking unit 10 to projectthe touch mark 30 to the intersection area P (see FIG. 2). In anembodiment, the control device 50 is configured to control the touchmarking unit 10 to scan, at a predetermined frequency, the touch markalong a plane in which the floating imaging region D is located. In thelatter embodiment, the predetermined frequency can be set high enough sothat the human eye does not realize an interruption of the projection,so that a better visual marking effect can also be obtained.

The control device described herein may be implemented as a combinationof a processor and a memory, wherein the processor executes a programstored in the memory to implement a corresponding function of thecontrol device. The control devices described herein may also beimplemented in a complete hardware implementation, including anapplication specific integrated circuit (ASIC), field programmable gatearray (FPGA), and the like.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a floating display device according toembodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 5, the floatingdisplay device according to embodiments of the present disclosurefurther includes a display unit 60 and a floating imaging unit 70configured to generate a floating image in the floating imaging region Dbased on information from the display unit 60. The floating display canbe realized by reflection or projection. For example, the floatingimaging unit can include at least one of an optical fiber or an AIimaging plate. The display unit may include at least one of a liquidcrystal panel, an OLED panel, or a quantum dot panel.

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method for the floatingdisplay device as described above to indicate the touch position. Themethod includes projecting the touch mark for marking the area where thetouch object intersects the floating imaging region.

As shown in FIG. 6, in embodiments of the present disclosure, theprojection touch mark includes:

S11. Obtaining a position of the area where the touch object intersectsthe floating imaging region.

S13. Projecting the touch mark to the position.

For example, a touch object locating unit such as a laser radar may beemployed to obtain a position of an intersection area of a touch objectsuch as a finger and a floating imaging region. A touch marking unit,such as a laser MEMS device, then projects the touch mark to theposition.

In an embodiment, the touch mark is scanned at a predetermined frequencyalong a plane in which the floating imaging region is located. In thiscase, as long as the predetermined frequency is high enough, a bettervisual marking effect can be achieved without the need to acquire thepositional information of the area where the touch object intersects thefloating imaging region.

The floating display device may further include a processor that cananalyze and execute a touch operation instruction of the user accordingto a frequency, a position, a moving state, and the like of the touchobject appearing in the floating imaging region D.

Having described certain specific embodiments, these embodiments havebeen presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit thescope of the present disclosure. Indeed, the novel embodiments describedherein may be embodied in various other forms, furthermore, variousomissions, substitutions, and changes in the form of the embodimentsdescribed herein may be made without departing from the spirit of thedisclosure. The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intendedto cover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope andspirit of the disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A floating display device comprising a touchmarking unit, wherein the floating display device is configured togenerate a floating image in a floating imaging region, wherein thetouch marking unit is configured to project a touch mark for marking anarea where a touch object intersects the floating imaging region, andwherein the touch marking unit is configured to scan the touch markalong a plane in which the floating imaging region is located to markthe area where the touch object intersects the floating imaging region.2. The floating display device according to claim 1, wherein the touchmarking unit comprises a laser, a MEMS reflector for changing aprojection direction of a laser light generated by the laser, and aprojection lens for projecting the laser light from the MEMS reflectorto display the touch mark.
 3. The floating display device according toclaim 2, wherein the laser light comprises visible light.
 4. A methodfor the floating display device according to claim 2 to indicate thetouch position, the method comprising projecting a touch mark formarking an area where the touch object intersects the floating imagingregion.
 5. A method for the floating display device according to claim 3to indicate the touch position, the method comprising projecting a touchmark for marking an area where the touch object intersects the floatingimaging region.
 6. The floating display device according to claim 1,further comprising a control device.
 7. The floating display deviceaccording to claim 1, further comprising: a display unit; and a floatingimaging unit, configured to generate a floating image in the floatingimaging region based on information from the display unit.
 8. A methodfor the floating display device according to claim 1 to indicate thetouch position, the method comprising projecting the touch mark formarking the area where the touch object intersects the floating imagingregion.
 9. The method according to claim 8, wherein projecting the touchmark comprises: obtaining a position of the area where the touch objectintersects the floating imaging region; and projecting the touch mark tothe position.
 10. The method according to claim 8, wherein projectingthe touch mark comprises: scanning, at a predetermined frequency, thetouch mark along a plane in which the floating imaging region islocated.
 11. The floating display device according to claim 1, furthercomprising a control device configured to control the touch marking unitto scan the touch mark at a predetermined frequency along a plane inwhich the floating imaging region is located.
 12. A method forindicating a touch position of a floating display device comprising thefloating display device according to claim 1, the method comprisingprojecting a touch mark for marking an area where the touch objectintersects the floating imaging region.